Mass media channels (e.g., television and radio broadcasts) typically provide limited content to a large audience. By contrast, the World Wide Web provides vast amounts of information that may only interest a few individuals. Conventional interactive television attempts to bridge these two communication mediums by providing a means for viewers to interact with their televisions and to receive content and/or services related to television broadcasts.
Conventional interactive television is typically only available to viewers through cable or satellite networks for a subscription fee. To receive interactive television service the viewer has to rent or buy a set-top box and have it installed by a technician. The viewer's television is connected to the set-top box, which enables the viewer to interact with the television using a remote control or other input device, and to receive information, entertainment and services (e.g., advertisements, online shopping, forms and surveys, games and activities, etc.).
While conventional interactive television can improve the viewer's television experience, there remains a need for social and interactive applications for mass media that do not rely on significant additional hardware or physical connections between the television or radio and a set-top box or computer.
One social and interactive television application that is lacking with conventional and interactive television systems is the ability to provide complementary information to the mass media channel in an effortless manner. With conventional systems, a user would have to log-on to a computer and query for such information which would diminish the passive experience offered by mass media. Moreover, conventional television systems cannot provide complementary information in real-time while the user is watching a broadcast.
Another social and interactive television application that is lacking with conventional interactive television systems is the ability to dynamically link a viewer with an ad hoc social peer community (e.g., a discussion group, chat room, etc.) in real-time. Imagine that you are watching the latest episode of “Friends” on television and discover that the character “Monica” is pregnant. You want to chat, comment or read other viewers' responses to the scene in real-time. One option would be to log on your computer, type in the name of “Friends” or other related terms into a search engine, and perform a search to find a discussion group on “Friends.” Such required action by the viewer, however, would diminish the passive experience offered by mass media and would not enable the viewer to dynamically interact (e.g., comment, chat, etc.) with other viewers who are watching the program at the same time.